The Original “Kingmaker”
The term “Kingmaker” was first coined to refer to Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (1428 – 1471), the wealthiest and most powerful English nobleman of his era. He was also a capable military commander during the Wars of the Roses between the Yorkist and Lancastrian branches of the royal Plantagenet family. Warwick began the conflict on the Yorkist side, but then switched his support to the Lancastrians, and his role in the ouster of two kings earned him the nickname “Warwick the Kingmaker”.
The conflict began when Richard, Duke of York, backed by the Nevilles, made tried to seize the crown from his cousin, the mentally incapacitated King Henry VI. However, the Duke of York, along with Warwick’s father, were slain in battle. The struggle passed on to the next generation of Yorkists, Warwick, and the Duke of York’s son, Edward. Warwick helped secure victory for the Yorkists, who broke the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton in 1461. Henry VI was deposed and imprisoned, and his place was taken by York’s son, who was crowned as Edward IV.